Surgical scalpels are used by medical personnel in connection with surgical procedures ranging from simple outpatient procedures to extraordinarily complex procedures carried out under general anesthesia. When working with such a sharp instrument, there is always a danger to medical personnel of inadvertent puncture of the skin. Aside from the injury itself, the more important concern for the punctured individual relates to the potential spread of disease from a non-sterile instrument.
The use of surgical scalpels having a retractable blade has been suggested as a means for reducing the number of such puncture wounds. Indeed, a number of patents have been issued which are directed toward surgical scalpels having retractable blades. These include, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,531,754, 6,254,621, 6,041,505, 6,022,364, 6,015,419, 5,908,432, and 5,779,724. Absent from the disclosure of these referenced U.S. Patents, and any other publication of which Applicant is aware, is a means for determining whether the retractable blade of the surgical scalpel has ever been advanced. In the absence of such an indicator, it may be possible for a previously used scalpel to be mistaken for a new and sterile scalpel. It is certainly less likely that such a mistake could be made if a surgical scalpel equipped with a retractable blade were also designed to incorporate a single-use indicator which would provide a clear indication if the blade of the device were ever extended post-manufacture.